Comparison

X vs Flight Simulator Advanced

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

X

Experience a highly realistic flight simulator with accurate physics and detailed 3D cockpits. Explore numerous airports and terrain, with options to expand scenery and aircraft through subscription and in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • Realistic flight model
  • Interactive 3D cockpits
  • Detailed 3D airports
  • Free tutorials
  • Massive multiplayer
  • System failure simulation
  • Emergency scenarios
Features
Read full description

The most realistic aircraft. The world at your fingertips. It’s not a game, it’s a flight simulator. ▶ "Highly recommended." — Mel Martin, Engadget ◀ ▶ Featured by Apple in "Best New Games" ◀ ▶ Over 1 million downloads! ◀ Come experience why real pilots fly X-Plane. It starts with the flight model—the same flight model used in our FAA-certified desktop simulator—that’s complete enough to model the flex in your wings & the tilt in your landing gear. Add to that our desktop-quality aircraft with multiple liveries and interactive 3-D cockpits—so detailed you can do a full startup procedure using the hundreds of buttons, knobs, & switches in the cockpit. With working gauges, flight displays, & more, these cockpits are as realistic as those in our full desktop sim. But aircraft are no good without a place to fly them. That's why each of our 5 ▸free◂ regions features detailed terrain, lifelike city buildings, & 3D airports—complete with terminal buildings, jetways, hangars, & more. Want more? Subscribe to unlock global scenery, and get access to over 37,000 airports, with more than 11,500 airports featuring 3D terminals, hangars, & more. ▶ FEATURES √ 9 ▸free◂ tutorials, teaching the basics of takeoffs & landings, traffic patterns, helicopters, & more √ Massive multiplayer with thousands of other pilots and controllers in a single shared world (Professional subscribers only; non-subscribers can get free trial flights for a limited time) √ Fully interactive cockpits on many aircraft, wired to real systems models, with working gauges, displays, buttons, & switches √ Full startup procedures supported on many aircraft (optionally start any aircraft from cold & dark) √ More than 50 systems modeled, each of which can be failed on command √ Emergency scenarios √ Combat missions ▶ AIRCRAFT The app includes 2 aircraft (plus 5 scenery regions) for free. In addition, the following aircraft are available as in-app purchases: • ▸Free!◂ Cessna 172SP w/ 4 liveries • ▸Free!◂ Cirrus Vision SF50 w/ 5 liveries • Cirrus SR22 w/ 3 liveries • Cessna Citation X w/ 3 liveries • Airbus A320 Airliner w/ 3 liveries • Airbus A330-300 Airliner w/ 3 liveries • Boeing B737-800 Airliner w/ 3 liveries • Boeing B777-200ER Airliner w/ 3 liveries • Boeing B747-400 Jumbo Jet w/ 3 liveries • Bombardier CRJ200 Regional Jet w/ 3 liveries • Douglas DC-3 Airliner w/ 3 liveries • McDonnell Douglas MD-80 w/ 3 liveries • A-10 Thunderbolt II (“Warthog”) Fighter • F-22 Raptor Fighter • F-4 Phantom II Fighter • Beechcraft Baron B58 • Beechcraft King Air C90B • Piper PA-18 Super Cub • Piaggio P.180 Avanti • Sikorsky S76 Helicopter ▶ SCENERY 5 scenery regions are ▸free◂ for everyone! • Oahu, Hawaii • Grand Canyon • Seattle/Tacoma, Washington • Juneau, Alaska • Innsbruck, Austria Global scenery is available by purchasing a monthly or yearly subscription. ▶ MULTIPLAYER Come join tens of thousands of other pilots and controllers in a single, shared world! Try the Fly-In of the Day to meet up with hundreds of other pilots, or explore the MMO world for more chance encounters. Massive multiplayer is in early access—we wanted to get it in your hands as soon as possible—so we’re going to continue adding new features & improvements over the coming months. Terms of Service available at: https://www.x-plane.com/x-plane-mobile-terms-of-service/ Download X-Plane now to experience aviation like never before.

About

Flight Simulator Advanced

Experience realistic flight simulation with interactive cockpits and detailed aircraft. Plan your routes, manage ground services, and enjoy dynamic weather and day/night cycles. This app offers an immersive flying experience for aviation enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Interactive cockpits
  • Realistic physics and aerodynamics
  • Flight planning system
  • HD airports and diverse aircraft
  • Airport ground services
  • Day/night cycle and weather modes
Features
Read full description

• Feel what it's like flying inside the cockpit of a real aircraft. • Interact with cockpit buttons, switches and levers. • Push-back, taxi to runway, take-off, fly your flight-plan, land, connect to jetway! ~ REQUIREMENTS ~ Requires an iPhone or iPad with at least 4GB RAM (e.g., iPhone 11/iPad 10th Generation or later) and internet connection whily playing. Performance not guaranteed on older devices. Main Features --------------------- • 100+ HD airports • Many aircraft, including A320, A321, A320neo, A321XLR, B737, A330, A340, A380, A350, B777, B747, Β787 with a lot of liveries and authentic cockpits • Ability to import your own custom liveries into the game • Airport Ground services (Movable jetways, fuel trucks, AI traffic) • Realistic physics/aerodynamics • Autopilot • Flight planning system with waypoints and navigation • Day/night cycle • Weather modes and precipitation • Interactable cockpits • Realistic sound effects (ATC chatter ,Engines sound effects, GPWS , alarms etc.

Screenshots

X4 screens
Flight Simulator Advanced4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: X at none against Flight Simulator Advanced's shown. X also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). Flight Simulator Advanced's advantage is rating (4.4 vs 4.0) and review sentiment (78% vs 58%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. X sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Flight Simulator Advanced sells 14 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Flight Simulator Advanced holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25K and 9K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of X's written reviews are positive against 78% of Flight Simulator Advanced's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
X versus Flight Simulator Advanced: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterXFlight Simulator Advanced
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (25K ratings)4.4 (9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.2% of reviews78.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings25K — better9K
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.0 GB2.0 GB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperLaminar ResearchPanagiotis Drakopoulos

Customer experience

X

All ratings24,532 ratings
Positive74.7%
Neutral7.2%
Negative18.1%
Written reviews2,634 reviews
Positive58.2%
Neutral14.5%
Negative27.3%

Flight Simulator Advanced

All ratings9,032 ratings
Positive84.8%
Neutral4.9%
Negative10.3%
Written reviews841 reviews
Positive78.0%
Neutral9.6%
Negative12.4%

User reviews

X

From 25K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Realistic flight physics
  • 👍 Highly interactive cockpits
  • 🤠 Great for flight enthusiasts
  • 💡 Potential to be used for flight training

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive planes and subscription
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches in some planes
  • 🌍 Limited free global scenery
  • 🎮 Challenging controls for beginners

Flight Simulator Advanced

From 9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Realistic graphics and sound
  • 👍 Variety of planes and airlines
  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 👍 Interactive cockpit controls

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔧 Lack of clear instructions and guidance
  • 🔧 Difficulty in navigation and finding runways
  • 🔧 Limited camera views and perspectives

Bugs and requests

X

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Altitude hold issues in the MD-80
  • Inconsistent cockpit quality across different planes
  • Unexpected plane behavior during takeoff and landing

Requested features

5 requests
  • More free planes, especially commercial airliners
  • Larger free flight area and more airports
  • Improved autopilot and flight planning features
  • Addition of ground services like pushback and jetways
  • More realistic weather, lighting, and environmental effects

Flight Simulator Advanced

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes and freezes when loading maps or starting flights
  • Unresponsive controls and buttons
  • Issues with landing gear, flaps, and other interactive cockpit elements
  • Floating or misaligned aircraft on the ground

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more airports, especially in North America, Asia, and other regions
  • Implement full flight planning and routing options
  • Introduce more aircraft types like regional jets, military planes, and older models
  • Add ATC communication and integration
  • Improve landing gear physics and animations
Show 1 more
  • Implement multiplayer and online functionality

In-app purchases

11 purchases

X

Subscriptions2
  • X-Plane Mobile Basic$4.991 Month
  • X-Plane Mobile Professional$5.991 Month
One-time9
  • Piper SuperCub$0.99
  • Baron B58$1.99
  • Sikorsky S76$2.99
Show 6 more
  • McDonnell Douglas MD-80$4.99
  • Airbus A320$4.99
  • F-22 Raptor$4.99
  • Boeing 777-200ER$4.99
  • Boeing 747-400$4.99
  • Boeing B737-800$4.99
14 purchases

Flight Simulator Advanced

One-time14
  • Unlock region: North America$1.99
  • A350-1000, liveries & No Ads$2.99
  • A330-300 & Liveries & No Ads$2.99
Show 11 more
  • A340-600$2.99
  • B737 Max$2.99
  • A321neo$2.99
  • A340-300$2.99
  • A321, Liveries & No Ads$2.99
  • A330neo$2.99
  • A380 with liveries and No Ads.$3.49
  • B747-400, liveries & no ads$3.49
  • A350-900, liveries, No-Ads$3.99
  • B777-300ER$3.99
  • B787-9$3.99

Questions

Is X free?
X is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Flight Simulator Advanced free?
Flight Simulator Advanced is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, X or Flight Simulator Advanced?
Flight Simulator Advanced is rated higher. X averages 4.0 out of 5 from 25K ratings, while Flight Simulator Advanced averages 4.4 from 9K ratings.
Do X or Flight Simulator Advanced have ads?
Flight Simulator Advanced shows ads; X does not.
Which is updated more often, X or Flight Simulator Advanced?
X ships an update fortnightly, and Flight Simulator Advanced fortnightly. Most recently, X was updated on September 24, 2026 and Flight Simulator Advanced on September 23, 2026.

Other comparisons